Dragonfury 01 - Fury of Fire

evening. But memorizing the layout was less important than finding transportation. She needed a car to get the heck out of Dodge.
    And where did most people keep their vehicles?
    In a garage.
    Daimler—bless him—had already let drop that the garage wasn’t attached to the house. So plan A included getting outside. The garden was the perfect cover for some covert snooping. Too bad she didn’t have any training in that department. A little Navy SEAL would go a long way right now.
    But much as she liked to call him one, Bastian wasn’t an idiot. She’d seen him speak to Daimler when he left the kitchen. Ever since then, the little elf had gone household commando on her. Out of sight, he dogged her every move, watching like a hawk and—
    Surprise, surprise. She wasn’t alone.
    Myst pivoted toward the butler’s pantry. The scraping, almost imperceptible sound came again. Jeez. Daimler wasn’t any better at the covert thing than she was. Bless his heart, though, for trying.
    “Daimler?”
    With a joyful hop, the butler burst through the swinging door, leaping into the kitchen. An icing-covered spatula in his hand, he waved it above his head, circling the thing with flourish. “Yes, my…Myst? How may I be of assistance?”
    Fighting a smile, Myst stared at him. Good God. The guy was agile…and funnier than any episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Thank goodness for Daimler. He was better than a hit of Prozac for the doom and gloom department.
    “You can stop following me around, you know. I’m not going anywhere.” At least, not tonight. In three days, however? Watch out. By then, her plan would be rock solid, and she’d have the keys to the fastest vehicle in Bastian’s garage.
    “Oh, I’m not—”
    “Save it, Daimler.”
    The spatula drooping, he went from joyful to crestfallen. “It was not my intention to invade your privacy, my lady.”
    “I know.”
    “Master Bastian is concerned…this being your first night at Black Diamond. He wanted to stay, but duty called him away from you.”
    He wanted to stay…with her.
    Six words. Alone, they were nothing special. Together? They almost sent her over the edge. As it was, she was barely hanging on to her don’t-fall-for-him rule. But every time she turned around, Bastian was doing something she liked. Something thoughtful and nice. Which just burned her butt. Why couldn’t he get with the program and act like an axe murderer or something? It would’ve made her life a whole lot easier if she actually wanted to get away from him.
    Right. Escape. That’s what she should be thinking about.
    Taking a moment, Myst reshuffled her deck—the one labeled priorities—and got back in the game. Time to sit down at the table and play a round of What’s Bastian Up To? with the hand he’d dealt her.
    And Daimler was the perfect foil. Too honest for his own good, the elf would tell her what she needed to know with a few well-placed, seemingly innocent questions.
    “The house is beautiful,” she said, tone casual with just the right amount of curiosity thrown in for good measure. “And huge. How many square feet?”
    “Oh, goodness me.” With a twirl, Daimler retreated toward the pantry.
    Myst blinked as he spun like a top and, bumping the door with his butt, disappeared into the room beyond. As the door closed with a swoosh behind him, she sighed. Great. She was worse at the covert thing than she thought. Somehow, she’d tipped him off. Now, she wouldn’t get her questions answered and—
    The elf barreled back into the kitchen, a cake stand complete with cake in one hand, a glass bowl filled with white icing in the other. “Including the underground lair?”
    She nodded and, stepping up to the island, slid onto the high-back chair closest to where Daimler was setting up shop.
    “Hmm…” Armed with the spatula, he iced the sides of the cake. Myst’s mouth started to water. Man, that smelled good…carrot cake and sugary icing. The junk food of champions. “Twenty-three thousand square feet…give or take.”
    Holy crap. The place was much bigger than she thought and…
    God, that cake was driving her crazy. Reaching out, Myst rescued a drop of icing about to fall from the edge of the bowl. As she brought it to her mouth and sucked the sugar from her fingertip, she hummed. Daimler was awesome…one of the finer rarities on Earth. “Not including the garage?”
    Daimler’s gold tooth flashed as he chuckled. “Would you like a